HomeNewsThe Political Economy of HIV: UN research published in leading journal

This page was last updated 02.02.2016

The Political Economy of HIV: UN research published in leading journal

Wednesday 26 August 2015

​Researchers from the University of Northampton’s Business School have had their work published in a special issue of the Review of African Political Economy which focuses on the HIV and AIDS epidemic in Africa.

The University of Northampton’s Kevin Deane, Lecturer in International Development, co-edited the special issue with Deborah Johnston of SOAS (School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London), and Matteo Rizzo (SOAS, RoAPE Editorial Board). Deborah is also a visiting professor at the University of Northampton. As well as co-editing the publication, Kevin Deane has had two articles published in the journal.

The special issue focuses on the political economy of HIV, and contains conceptual, original research and review articles that will be of interest to those working in political economy, public health, international development, economics and epidemiology. The contributions cover a number of important current issues, including conceptual issues regarding the role of structural drivers of the epidemic, critical discussion of interventions such as microfinance and cash transfers, an assessment of approaches to understanding sexual practices such as concurrency and transactional sex, as well as challenges related to the international response, institutional architectures, and the impact the response has had on the African state.

Kevin explained: “Following a workshop in 2013, we are thrilled that this special issue has now been published. Our author’s contributions build on the tradition of social science and political economy research related to the HIV epidemic, which challenge narrow, inaccurate and potentially dangerous interpretations of HIV in African countries, as well as connecting the current debates about HIV/AIDS to larger discussions about globalisation, class differentiation, inequity and uneven development in African countries.”